Editorial: Fewer abortions in Texas a good thing

Published 3:20 pm, Thursday, February 6, 2014

The Houston Chronicle recently reported that the abortion rate dropped to the lowest level since soon after the procedure’s legalization.

It was, according to the Chronicle, from an analysis of the years before new restrictions prompted some clinics to shut down.

The rate in Texas declined from 14.9 abortions every 1,000 women in 2008 to 13.5 in 2011, its lowest rate since 1974, according to the Chronicle report.

The number and rate of abortions have been declining since the late 1980s, according to the lead author of the report, quoted in the article.

We don’t care what the reason is for the decline. Whether it is because more people are using contraception, are making smarter decisions about sex or are seeing value in the life of the unborn. Fewer abortions for every 1,000 women is a statistic we like to see.

We remind Midlanders that the report shows there were still more than 73,000 abortions in Texas in 2011. So there is still plenty of work to do.